November update.....

-Had heart ablation 3 weeks ago. Doing well and off of blood thinner. I get extra heart beats here and there but not that bad.
-Got the report from Illich . Birth family would like to keep in touch with us. We received a lot of pictures of birth mom,grandma,,inside of their apartment and outside also and pictures of the neighborhood and also the hospital Polina was born at.
-Polina is doing well. She talks a lot and in sentences. The potty training is not going too well. she wears underwear during the day at daycare and goes pee on the potty but not poop.Basically we have to buy a lot of underwear because they snip them with scissors when she goes. so every week we buy more and more underwear.
-Mia has 2 teeth on the bottom and we think she may be getting more on the top. She eats food jars and cereal. she just turned 6 months.
-Polina is leaving daycare to stay home with me. so Wish me luck on that one. I am excited and scared at the same time especially when they are so far apart in age.
-We had a wonderful thanksgiving. We went over Randy"s cousins house in New york. I feel like I gained 20 pounds. the next day my sisters house and we ate again. I like Holidays but its so hard to say no to food.
-We celebrated Polinas 1 year with us on November 16th. My family came over and we had good food and cake. Polina thought it was a birthday party for her so we just placed some candles on the cake so she can blow it out and of course my family bought gifts so she was really excited. she loved her ariel dress and cindarella dress. She just loves playing dress up.
-Mia still doesn't sleep through the whole night. she goes to bed at 7 but wakes up at least once or twice a night. sometimes I try to feed her before I go to bed at 10 or 11 and she still wakes up at 3 0r 4 so now I just give up. i just let her sleep and whatever times she wakes up thats when I 'll feed her

October update

Things have been good, but busy here at the household. Polina has been talking non stop and is forming sentences, which is really fun to listen to and conversate with her! We took her to the summer Luthern Social Services adoption family picnic where she got to play with other adopted kids, and she had a blast. She is still in daycare so that Maggie can focus on the baby and not put too much strain on her heart. Hopefully, Maggie's heart procedure will go smoothly the end of this month and Polina can stay home by the end of the year.

Baby Mia is doing good as well. She has bad reflux and is now on prevecid, which seems to be helping. She doesnt take any naps at all, and wants to be carried all day, so is a handful for Maggie!

Included some updated pics of Polina and Mia...

September Update!!!!!!!

Polina is doing awesome as a big sister. She loves to give kisses to baby Mia and knows how to make her smile and laugh. She knows all her colors and is starting to count. She has been doing a really great job going on the potty and loves to get piece of candy and ice pops as a reward. We finished the letter to the birth mom. We had my sisters friend who is Russian translate the letter that we wrote into Russian and all the questions that we have for the birth mom. Illich is leaving very soon so we are looking forward to all the new information that we hopefully we'll receive. Polina 's speech has been progressing quite well. She starting to talk to us in sentences. She'll say"Where did daddy go" or where is my lipstick" it's actually a lip balm and my sister started it all. When we went over my sisters house my sister decided to put some lip gloss on Polina's lips. So now if we go to the mall and we pass by Max Factor and she sees a picture of a model in the window she points out the lipstick. She applies the lip balm over and over and than smacks her lips together. She is such a girl...she loves shoes and dresses and loves to put on every ones shoes that comes over. The more sparkle the better. Mia is doing well also. She is 4 months old already and is a very big girl. She is at 95 % for height and weight. We had some trouble with acid reflux but now she's on Prevacid and its helping her tremendously. I am gonna try to be much better with updating the blog but with the two kids it's kind of hard. It's 10 pm here and everyone is sleeping except me. I should be sleeping also but I get too excited to have some free time for myself and I never wanna go to bed and by the time I fall asleep Mia wakes up to eat so I only get 4 or 5 hours of sleep. Than the next day begins and its the same cycle. I'm tired and should be sleeping but I cant because I'm to excited to finally have time to myself and I don't want the night to end and than by the time I go to bed its already after 11 than Mia will wake up around 2 so than I am up again trying to fall asleep than she'll be up again at 5 or so and than I am up again. This is not fun at all. I am going to drink some tea now and hopefully I'll be ready to go to bed.wish me luck!!!!!

update on the storm

the storm was very windy and rainy and although half of CT is without power, we were spared. It was just boring for Polina since she usually plays outside, so we all were getting antsy!

Hurricane

So it's 5:48 in CT right now and we are just waiting on this storm. We stocked up on bread,water and batteries. Yesterday when I went to the store almost all the water was gone. I hope its not going to be as bad as they say. We tied the grill to our deck and placed all the chairs and table into the shed.We also placed a tarp under our front door. last time when it rained hard we got some water so hopefully this will help a little. I will let you all know tomorrow what is going on.hopefully it wont be anything big. Wish us luck!!!!!!!!

August update

Well, its been a while as we have been busy with the family and MAggie's unexpected surgery. Turns out its pretty common to have gallstones after pregnancy, and sure enough Maggie has severe pains and needed to have her gallbladder out. Luckily, her mom (grandma) was able to live with us for three weeks until Maggie could fully recover and pickup the baby again.

Polina has been doing very well and continues to grow and thrive. She is putting together more and more words and likes to babble on, pretending like she is talking. We need to start potty training her as she still doesnt really like the potty at all, and we dont want to force it.

We have been in touch with Illich, and in the coming weeks, will be looking forward to having him travel from Moscow to Vladivostok to find Polina's birth mom. We want to try and make contact and get additional information and maybe even start a dialogue. We know there are mixed feelings from adoptive families, but we at least want to have as much info as possible and then if Polina chooses to learn about the info, at least we have something.

Baby Mia is doing well. She is growing like crazy and is slowly sleeping better at night. She is quite the Princess, and Polina loves being an older sister. Some additional pictures are posted below....

family video....

We had a wonderful photographer take some great pictures of Polina, Mia and Maggie and myself (Randy) and wanted to share. Click to Enjoy....

Baby Mia is born!

Well, its been a productive last month. Baby Mia was born May 25h, 8:46am at 6lb 6oz and 19 inches long. Her big older sister Polina has taken to her very well and i think likes being an older sister. it is also Polina's birthday coming up shortly on June 1st. We have had a lot of family and friends come to visit and Maggie's Aunt from Poland is here for 6 weeks staying with us to help as well. This last year has been instant family and we cant be happier. Baby Mia is beautiful and Polina has been wonderful as well! Mom and baby are doing well. Maggie will hopefully go in a few weeks to get the minor heart surgery as well to help with the heart palpitations, but for now is taking it easy. Some pictures of the family....

The Wills family update;-))))

-Polina is saying more words now. Now she asks for things instead of nodding and pointing. We make her say words before we give her the things she wants.
-She loves all the nursery rhyme songs and sings all the time in her little way. Her favorite is the wheels on the bus and twinkle,twinkle little star.
-She knows all her shapes and is learning colors.
-she loves to eat and she eats anything. She loves fruits and vegetables the most.She rubs her belly and says good when I give her food.
-She loves taking pictures and poses with her arms on her hips. She loves when the camera is on her. Every time my younger sister comes over she takes a lot of photos of Polina with her cell phone and she just says 'cheese" and poses.
-I have 3 and a half weeks left till my c-section. I am looking forward to feeling lighter on my feet and for my heart not to work so hard.
-I would have the perfect pregnancy if my heart wasn't an issue. I have no swelling,no back pain,no constipation,no fatigue but when I have the flutters it knocks me out.
-My aunt is coming from Poland on May 17th and staying with us for 6 weeks. She will be helping us as we adjust as a family and of course because of the c-section. We are very lucky to have some help.
-Polina is getting two more teeth on the bottom so in total she'll have 12 teeth. we are waiting on 4 teeth to fully come in maybe she'll get them before her 2nd birthday in June.
- Polina will have a strawberry shortcake birthday party. Her birthday is on June 1st but due to my c-section we are doing the birthday party on June 18th. We are inviting 33 adults and 18 kids. people think I'm crazy but there is no way Polina is gonna miss a birthday party because of the c-section plus it would be her first real birthday party so we are very excited for her. ( I promise we will post pictures)
-Illich is doing the birth mother search for us. We can't wait till oct/nov till we find something out
We have been really bad at keeping up on our blog. I was thinking of changing the blog name and making it into like a family blog. After Mia Rose is born we will be a complete family of 4 so it would be updates on both of the girls. I am trying to think of a name but I haven't thought of anything so far.. Any ideas bloggers????????

Searching Polinas birth family.

I have been in contact with Illich to find Polina's birth family. I know it has been almost 5 months since we had her home but I always knew in my heart that that was the right thing to do. I don't see the point of waiting till she's 16 or older. Lots of things can change,people forget,people die,they move and it will be much harder to find them. Illich is planning a trip to Vladivostok area in October/November . He wants to have at least 3 families or 4 before he travels there.He now lives closer to Moscow so he actually has to take a plane to get there. He already did some research for me. We are so lucky to have a lot of information that it's only a matter of time before we have more information on the birth mom and the family. I just want to do this for Polina. I want to have pictures and letters and to know where she got her talents from and her beautiful red hair. I know that it may not work out in a positive way but at least I am giving it a try and we will never have to wonder "what if". Now that I'm pregnant and I feel the baby kick I know in my heart that this young girl must be thinking about Polina. How can you not. I know what its like not to have money. I am from Poland my self. I was born in a small village . We had no bathrooms but an outhouse. It was a two room 100 year old house that my parents bought. In American standards it would be a shack but to me it was a house. I have never known anything else until now because I live here. I just feel like that could have been me if I didn't have the opportunity to come here. maybe that's why I am less judging of her and her family and maybe that's why this is so important to let her know that Polina is okay and that she made the best decision for herself and for Polina.

Now about Polina. She is a real fire cracker. She is full of life and spunk. She adds more and more words to her vocabulary. She is quite funny when she does the cookie monster impression. she loves to sing the Itsy Bitsy spider in her own little way. she loves to eat and dance. We just love her to pieces. We can't imagine our life with out her we just love her so ,so much. She knows where baby Mia is and points to my belly and says baby or at least sounds like a baby. Sometimes she even points to her own belly. She has learned shapes. Her favorite shape is star.She points it out and says star in the cutest little voice. she is adjusting more and more and says hi to everyone she meets. she is much better with the cats. Before she wanted to pull on their tail and ears now she says nice as she pets them. sometimes when she is feisty she still tries to pull on their legs but she has gotten much better. she is amazing and we are so lucky to have her for a daughter.

Polina update

Polina is doing great. Her passport came in the mail, so now all of our documents are complete for her. We also just submitted the 6 month report. Cant believe she has been home 4 months already! Not sure i remember our life before her! ;-)

polina has been enjoying the somewhat warmer weather and really loves being outside. Its always a battle coming back inside! Below are some new photos to show her amazing progress...

Two more months...

Two more months until baby Mia Rose Wills is born and Polina gets a sister! The family is doing well and we are starting to get ready for the new baby. The room has been painted, blinds installed, crib and furniture on order, and car seats are installed.

Polina has been doing really well. Another tooth is coming in, so she has been a little cranky, but not too bad. She has learned some new words from day care such as "mine" and "uh oh" and a few others. She is probably up to about 20 words or so, which isnt too bad for being home a little over three months. Here is what she can say:

Hi, Bye, Up, Down, No (her favorite), yes, moo, quack, woof, cheese, bath, mine, uh oh and sort of can say SpongeBob and Thank you. We are constantly talking to her, so she will hopefully pick up more words quickly. Thats the update for now!

Wills family update!!!!!!

Polina has been going to daycare for about 2 weeks now. She goes 3 times a week and loves it. It's too hard with my heart condition to be lifting her and chasing her around the house and plus with the pregnancy I am totally beat. I am on heart meds and doing lovenox injections 2x a day in the belly just as a prevention since I'm pregnant it complicates things. After the baby is born I will be having heart ablation done. I have to wait a couple of months to heal from the c-section and to prevent blood clots I have to wait till my hormones level goes down so another thing no breast feeding I wanna take care of this soon as possible.Randy does all the grocery shopping and errands.I play with Polina on the floor or on the couch since its too much for me to be running around. I am looking forward for this baby to be out so I can feel better and lighter.Polina has been doing really well. She says mama,dada,no of course,bye bye,up,down and all her body parts names elbows,knees,neck etc....She even does animal sounds especially the elephant .She even throws her arm in the air like the elephant trunk.She is a good sleeper. she goes to bed around 730 and sleeps till 7 in the morning and when its daycare time she wakes up at 6. she always wakes up with a smile on her face and is never grumpy. She also takes naps 2-3 hours. The teacher at the daycare said that right after she eats her lunch she heads straight to her cot and sleep 2 2/1 hours. She is very chatty returning from daycare since other children talk a lot more than her. She has gained 2 and a half pounds since we brought her home on November 16 so now she weights in at a whopping 24 and a half pounds. She loves to eat and is not picky at all. She eats watermelon,peas,green beans,broccoli,carrots,cottage cheese i mean everything. one thing she doesn't like is juices so she only drinks water or milk. we are glad that she doesn't care for the juices less sugar for her. My mom makes her every two days soups from scratch.My mom will make her barley soup,beat soup,cauliflower soup and she loves them all. I have to say we are pretty lucky to have such a great girl. On the other hand she does throw some terrible fits when she doesn't get her way. She does bang her head and hits herself in the face. We are working on that and I have to say she did get better but we still have a long way to go. Besides the tantrums she is a great girl and we are so very lucky to have her in our lives.

Maggie is home now

thanks everyone for the well wishes and prayers. Maggie came home on Monday and the medications seem to be working. of course CVS didnt have the medicines ready on Tuesday, so I braved the ice storm yesterday to pick up the meds.

Polina has been doing really well, and is picking up some new words and we are working with her on identifying objects. You can ask her where is your knee, elbow, chin, ears, eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, tongue and belly. She is learning so much....cant believe it has only been two months!

Her certificate of citizenship finally came in...was delayed from the holidays, but all set now. Woo hoo! Hope all is well with everyone

-Randy

Maggie

So Maggie has had some minor heart palpitations over the past few years, but now that she is pregnant they are getting worse. She has been to the cardiologist a few times, and they diagnosed her with SVT, which is a fairly common condition that could be corrected with minor surgery, if she wasn't pregnant. So they put her on a heart monitor to watch her. No sooner do they give us the monitor, then she has some flutters and calls it in. They immediate call am ambulance as her heart rate was over 250+.

She has been in the hospital now since Sunday. They are trying different medications to reduce her heart rate. For the most part, it is back to normal, but still has some flare ups so they want to keep her there to monitor the situation. She should be okay, but please send your prayers her way!

Maggie's and my family have been great and have been coming over to watch polina so that I can go to work, and shovel the 2 feet of snow that fell on Wednesday. Maggie's Mom even slept over the last few nights as well, which was a HUGE help. This has been a trying week.... Polina has handled everything well, except she didnt like visiting Maggie because I think she thought that the doctors were there for her and she got upset every time one came in. Must have been all of the immunization shots she received when she came to us that still sticks in her mind.

Wanted to send our blogger friends an update...that is why we havent posted anything in a while. Hopefully Maggie will come home soon, but we may need to put Polina in day care a few days a week to allow Maggie some bed rest days until she can give birth and then get the procedure done. Luckily, there is one near us that has openings and actually has another red-headed adopted girl from Russia (funny, huh?). Well, thats it for now...will keep folks updated as we learn more. Maggie has a laptop, so at least that keeps her busy.